Where Is Max?
by AquaMarenia
Summary: It all starts when Max runs away from home, because he always feels left out of everything. On this life changing journey, he discovers the meaning to life. This is an exciting mini-novel that I recommend for you to read.
1. Escape

**Warning: You must read the WHOLE story. If you skip a chapter, you will understand NOTHING!**

**A/N: When I first wrote this, I was going to make it one of those random 200 word one-shots. But as I wrote the story, it changed. COMPLETELY.**

**This was rated K+ because Max says the word 'hobo'. My mom said hobo is a mean word. So that's why it is rated K+.**

**I hope you enjoy this!**

**3 The Girl That Dropped the Nickel (read the story to find out what I am talking about)**

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* * *

_

No one knows I exist. Alex and Justin get all of the attention. People call me 'Alex's little brother' or 'Justin's little brother' or even 'that guy that smells.' But I am not just what they say I am. I have feelings too. And to clear up a rumor, I actually take showers.

_Some people say I smell like a hobo. So that is what I am going to do. Live with the homeless people and get to smell like them. I bet they will be way nicer than people who sleep on beds. Goodbye._

_Love, Max._

* * *

It is 3 o' clock in the morning in late February. I read my letter over and over again before putting in the cash register.

I already packed what I needed. A coat and money, that's it. I had money from the time I sold my plate of trash to a little girl.

Four hundred dollars is a lot of money. Of course, I already spent half of it… which is… Ah. I'm too lazy to do math. And so, I walked out the door of the Waverly Place Sub Station.

I was already a block down the treat when somebody popped out of nowhere.

"Hello." A hobo said.

"Hi!" I said. "What's your name?"

"Jeremy." He said, looking confused.

"Nice to meet you!" I shook Jeremy's hand. I knew I wasn't allowed to talk to strangers. Mommy told me it was dangerous. But she wasn't my mother anymore.

Jeremy was a man about the same height as me. He looked like he was around my parents' age.

"Do you have any money?" Jeremy asks.

"Yeah. Do you want me to buy you something at McDonalds?" I asked.

Jeremy looked surprised at my generosity. "Yes." Jeremy had a very kind smile on his face. "I also have a wife, five children, and a brother." He said.

"Okay." I said. "What do you guys want from McDonalds?"

"Anything." Jeremy pleaded.

"Okay. Stay right here and I will be right back."

I walked to the nearest McDonalds. I decided to buy them chicken nuggets and milkshakes.

"I'm back!" I said carrying Jeremy his food.

Jeremy didn't know how blessed he was to have a me buy him food. "Thank you, so much!" Jeremy said with joy.

"No problem!" I said. "Where do you live?"

* * *

Jeremy brought me to an abandoned New York tenement. They all lived in one filthy room. It was basically empty except the cardboard boxes on the ground and some blankets that the smallest children had on them. There was one boy that looked 12, a girl who looked 11, twin boys who looked 3, one baby held by a woman, and a man that looked Jeremy's age.

"Who's this?" The woman asked Jeremy gesturing to me.

"This is Max. He bought us McDonalds." Jeremy replied.

"Yay!" The 11 year old girl said. She came and hugged my waist. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome." I said to the little girl.

"My name is Hannah." She said letting go of me.

"Mines Max." I said.

She smiled and went back to sitting next to her older brother.

"Did you force him to buy you food, Jeremy?" his brother asked.

"No, Nathaniel. I didn't. He asked." Jeremy replied to Nate.

"Can we eat already?" The 12 year old boy asked.

"Sure, Josh." Jeremy said.

"Yay!" Josh said as he rushed over to run over to me and grab all the food he could carry. "Matt, Mike, wake up. We have food." He said waking up the 2 twins who looked like they were 3 years old.

They all got their chicken nuggets and milkshakes. I didn't get anything for myself. I wasn't hungry.

I soon learned that Jeremy's wife's name is Andrea and their baby was Ava. Their family couldn't pay for their apartment's rent, so they were kicked out onto the streets. They would do anything to get money.

"Do you have anywhere to spend the night?" Jeremy asked me.

"No." I said.

"You can stay here if you want." He offered.

"Okay, thanks." I said.

After they finished their meal, we fell asleep.

* * *

_The next morning at the Waverly Sub Station, Mrs. Russo walked to the cash register to put in some change before the customers came. Instead, she found the note Max wrote her._

"_My son… He's gone." Theresa started panicking._

"_I'm right here, mom." Justin said as he walked down the stairs._

"_No, my other son." His mom said._

"_Where is Max?" Alex asked walking down the stairs._

_Mr. Russo walked down the stairs humming a song. "What?" he asked._

"_Max is missing!" Theresa, his wife, said horrified._

"_What?" Jerry asked more concerned this time. _

_She handed him the note._

"_We need to call the police." He said, running back up the stairs to the house phone._

"_I'll go search town." Alex said._

"_I'll go with you." Justin said as they walked out the door together._


	2. Magic

A month later, they still could not find me. I became like family to Jeremy's family. But my $200 could not last forever.

"I'm out of money." I said. It was just after lunch. I only brought 1 meal, that was all I could afford.

"Oh no." Jeremy said.

"We're going to have to start stealing again," Nate said.

"Maybe we could do something else. Like a magic show!" I suggested.

"We don't have anything you can do magic tricks with."

"Don't worry, I'll earn the money. I'll be back later."

* * *

I snuck onto a subway with a school group who looked around my age. I didn't know where the subway was going, but these people looked like rich tourists. I can tell, because one girl's shirt said Aéropostale. The only reason I know that's a rich girl clothing store is because I heard Alex talking to mom about it. But weirdly, And the man who was apparently their teacher had a Pokémon backpack... Anyways, since they were tourists, they probably were going to a place where a lot of tourists go. And tourists love street performers.

On the subway, I saw a homeless man, looking like he was in his 50's, singing 'Lean on Me' by Bill Withers. The school group was singing along with him. That was a nice thing to do. After he was finished, he took his beanie hat off and asked around for money. None of the people in business suits gave him any, but everybody in the school group gave him some. One girl in the group, who was taking out all of her money in her pockets, accidently dropped a nickel. He picked it up and gave it back to her, but then she put it in his hat.

The subway stopped and I got out. The singing homeless man came out too.

"Are you trying to escape your school group?" he asked me.

"No, I don't go to school." I replied.

"Are you homeschooled?"

"Nope."

He looked at my clothes. "Are you homeless?"

"Yes." I said. "Well, I live in an abandoned tenement on the other side of town with a family."

"Not your own family?"

"I lost my real family." Was that a lie? I'm not sure.

"Oh," he said. "I live in a cardboard box around here."

"You can live with us, if you want to." I offered. "Jeremy has to agree, first."

"Is Jeremy your 'father'?" he asked putting air quotes around 'father'.

"Yeah, I guess."

"'Well, hi! My name is John. But when I become famous, I will be known as Johnny Black." He said offering a hand for me to shake.

I shook it. "Cool, mine is Max."

"It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." I replied.

"So, where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm going to perform magic tricks." I said.

"Sure..." He replied. He probably doesn't believe in magic.

I wish that all people knew about wizards, then they would believe me. But of course, if everyone knew I was a wizard, then magic tricks wouldn't be so impressive. And then I wouldn't be able to make money.

* * *

_Alex was sitting on the orange couch in the living room hugging her pillow with her knees. She had tears in her eyes. She wasn't even watching TV, she was just sitting there. Thinking. She turned into a completely different person when her brother left._

_Harper walked in through the front door. "He's not at M&M world."_

"_He's no where!" Alex cried out._

_Harper sat next to Alex and hugged her, "We'll find him. I promise."_

"_No we won't, Harper." Alex said as she pushed her best friend away, putting down the pillow. "He's been missing for a month."_

"_He's probably just hiding around FAO Schwartz." Harper said._

"_No he's not," Alex cried again. "He probably got himself killed by a gang. He's a 15 year old boy. He's too weak and not smart enough to survive out there!"_

"_Alex, he couldn't be dead. We just have to find him." Harper said as she forced Alex off the couch. "Let's look around FAO Shwartz again."_

_Alex wiped her tears away. "Could we also buy ice cream?" Alex asked._

"_Sure. I'll pay." Harper knew Alex would trick her into paying, but her little brother was missing. It was the least she could do._

"_Thanks." Alex said. And they walked out to FAO Swartz to find Max._

* * *

When the day was over, John and I walked back to the abandoned tenement where Jeremy and his family lived. I made around $15 that day. A lot of people love magic.

I walked into the room where they stayed.

"Hi Max. Who's this that you brought with you?" Jeremy asked.

"This is John. I met him on the subway. He can sing!" I said. "Is it okay if he stays with us?"

"I don't know… It's another mouth to feed." He said.

"But I make a lot. Especially today from this generous school group." John said pulling money out of his pockets. "I made around $50 today. I also have money from yesterday. Which makes $70."

Jeremy's family was surprised at how much money he made. He was a really good singer.

"He's magic, mommy." Hannah said tugging on her mom's dress.

"Okay. He can stay." Jeremy said.

* * *

For the next month, everyday, me and John went out to a random crowded place in New York and performed. Even on subways, we performed. Jeremy and his family also went out on the streets and begged for money. Mostly the children did that, but sometimes Jeremy, his brother, or his wife would. We made enough money to buy more blankets for us.

One night, something unexpected happened. John disappeared. I had no clue where he went. He seemed happy living with us. I didn't understand.

After John left, we weren't making as much as we used to. John made most of our money. I couldn't do huge magic tricks, people would start getting suspicious.


	3. Family

_Alex and Harper came out of the bottom entrance of Central Park._

"_He's nowhere in Central Park." Alex said._

"_He has to be somewhere." Harper said._

_Alex and Harper walked to Carnegie Hall and they saw a man singing 'Lean On Me' by Bill Withers._

"_Harper, give him $10." Alex suggested._

"_But I thought we were going to buy lunch with that." Harper said._

_Alex gave Harper the 'Do it or else' look._

"_Fine." Harper said, giving the man $10 when he finished singing._

"_Thank you," he said._

_Alex had an idea. "Do you know a Max? He's my brother. About yay high, brown hair, kinda looks like me?"_

"_Yes." He said._

"_Harper he knows Max!" Alex told Harper._

"_Really?" she asked her in excitement. _

"_Where is Max?" Alex asked the man._

"_He lives in an abandoned tenement near Little Italy," he said. "But he is probably out doing magic tricks right now."_

"_Thanks. Umm…" Alex said trying to get a name._

"_John."_

"_John. Hey. I'm Alex, and this is Harper."_

"_Hi."_

"_So, how do you know Max?"_

"_He was an old friend. I used to live there with him, a man named Jeremy, and his family. But I had to run away… Because their family reminded me of my family."_

"_Where is your family?" Alex asked._

"_They starved to death." He said. "I couldn't make enough money for them." _

"_That's so sad," Harper said._

"_I'm so sorry," Alex said._

"_It's okay," he said. "You go find your brother."_

"_Thank you," Alex said as she took off her black, gray, white, blue, and red friendship bracelet that Harper gave her to feel better about Max being missing and gave it to John. And then she walked away to get on a subway to get to Little Italy._

* * *

I came back home early. Only $10 today.

"Max!" Hannah said as she ran over to hug me, like every day.

"How much did you make today?" Josh asked.

"Only $10," I said.

"Oh…" he said, disappointed.

I'm a wizard. I should just make food come out of nowhere! My dad, my old dad, never taught us that, though.

"Max!" I heard a voice yell.

I turned around and it was my older sister, Alex.

She hugged me, even though I was filthy.

"Max!" Alex said, "I've been so worried about you! You need to come home!" she pleaded.

"No, Alex. This is my home now," I told her.

"Max! I'm your sister! I love you! We all do! We miss you," she started to cry, which is unlike Alex.

Harper came into the room, exhausted. She said nothing.

"You never told us you had a sister," Jeremy's brother, Nate, said.

"He also has an older brother," Harper added.

"Not anymore," I said.

"Max, please," Alex begged.

"No."

"Max…" Jeremy started to say, "Go with her. You should be with your family." He said as he hugged his wife, Andrea.

"But-"

"No, just go," he said as he smiled.

I left with Alex and Harper. I never looked back; I would miss them too much.


	4. Found

Ten years passed. And in those past 10 years, I've been doing everything that I can do to help the homeless. Alex and Justin also were helping too. Alex became a singer as famous as Beyoncé. And Justin invented a car motor that runs on water. The person who won the wizard competition was me. Alex and Justin never expected it. Haha!

I wrote a book about the time I spent with Jeremy and his family. I called it 'Where Is Max?'. It became a best-seller and I made a lot of money with it. I sent all that money to charities to provide food, shelter, and health to the homeless in New York City. Some money, I sent to other places in the United States as well. I even started my own charity, 'Where Are the Homeless?'. We go around New York City looking for beggars to give a huge amount of cash to.

* * *

One day I was walking around the streets of New York. And I saw a familiar face. I gave him $5000 in cash.

He looked up, "Max?"

"Yes, Jeremy. I'm back." I said. He looked much older.

* * *

He walked me back to where he lived. He still lived in the same abandoned tenement. And all his family was still alive, but starving.

"Hey everybody! Look who's back!" Jeremy said to his depressed looking family. Their faces lit up.

"Max!" Hannah said as she ran up to hug me, like she always did when I used to come back from working on the streets. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too." I said.

Everybody looked so different. Jeremy, Andrea, and Nate now had gray hair. Josh was almost as tall as me. He must be 22 now. Hannah was now 21. The twins, Matt and Mike, were 13. And baby Ava was almost 11.

"From now on, you guys are going to live with me," I said. "And I'll get you guys some real jobs."

"Yay!" Ava, the 11 year old who doesn't remember me, said.

* * *

They all lived in my house. I got them jobs at an elementary school.

Hannah had changed since she was 11. After a year of getting to know her again, we got married.

* * *

Alex and her 5 year old son came over to my house to hang out some. We were watching the news.

_"Welcome back to Ellen," Ellen DeGeneres said. "We are sitting here with the famous, Johnny Black."_

_A man walked in. It was John!_

"That's John!" I said excitedly to Alex.

"Oh yeah. He told me where you were." Alex said. She noticed John was wearing the friendship bracelet she gave him. She smiled.

_John waved to the clapping crowd and sat down in the couch chair next to Ellen._

_"How did you get famous, Johnny?"_

_"I was singing 'Lean On Me' in a subway a few years ago. And someone on Broadway said I should audition," he said. "I did."_

_"Cool. And I heard you are coming out with a new CD called 'Subway Blues'. What will we find on there?"_

_"Music about my life before I was famous," he said._

_"And what was life like before you were famous?" Ellen asked._

_"I sang around New York City, begging for money," he said. "I lived in a cardboard box until this boy named Max asked me to live with him and some other homeless people in an abandoned tenement. But then I had to leave."_

_"Why?"_

_"They reminded me too much of my family."_

I found out why he left. His family. He never told me about a family.

_"They died. I couldn't provide for them." He said._

_"Awwwww." The crowd and Ellen said._

_"So you said, Max. Is this Max Russo you are talking about?"_

_"I don't know his last name." John said._

I got off the couch and walked out the door.

"Where is Max going?" Nick asked.

"I don't know," Alex said, knowing exactly where he was going.

_"We should call him and ask," Ellen suggested._

* * *

"Hello?" I answered my phone.

_"Hi. This is Ellen. Do you know someone named Johnny Black?"_

"Yes." I said passing through the security guards who let me through on stage.

The crowd clapped. I've been on Ellen before. They get excited easily.

"Max!" John said. I haven't seen him in forever. I went to him and hugged him. I know guys don't usually hug, especially grown men, but I haven't seen him in a long time.

"Hi." I said.

We sat and talked the rest of the show. Answering questions for Ellen.

"I believe in magic, now," Johnny said.

I smiled at the thought.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the story! I know the canon characters seem out of character, but people can change in such experiances.**

**And I am 'the girl who dropped the nickel'. Literally. John was based of a homeless man me and my school sang with in the subway. I did drop a nickel. And he did pick it up. I thought it was really nice. I think that man deserves to be famous!**

**Tell me how you liked the story. You can review good or bad. I like both. (I know. I'm weird.)**

**3 The Girl Who Dropped The Nickel**


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